So Bad When It’s So Good…Let’s examine the real economy looking beyond the monthly jobs report numbers. Some of the job gains in the November report were striking GM workers going back to work. And the very low unemployment rate helps mask the unfortunate reality most new jobs created aren’t particularly good ones, plus we’re still not making a dent in the chronic structural challenges seeing roughly half of American working households struggling to get by. There’s a basic flaw in the current system when the rewards keep going disproportionately to the top.
I still question how much impact any president really has on a current economy. But Trump’s overall pace of job creation & increases in median household incomes still trail the Obama years, while the big increase under Trump has been our annual deficits: https://thehill.com/opinion/
During a 1980 campaign debate, Reagan famously asked Americans are you better off than you were 4 years ago? While we’re not seeing the stagflation like during the Carter years, the polling here at the end of 2019 show two-thirds of Americans say they are not financially better off than when Trump took office, seen in this article from a month ago: https://thehill.com/homenews/
Ironically, during a period like this of low unemployment & modest GDP growth, would be the ideal time to tackle the challenge of an uneven economy where the growth isn’t being shared, not waiting for the next downturn. But I guess politically in our bitterly divided country, agreeing around sensible solutions becomes virtually impossible. Other articles from the past month further highlight the struggles:
Wild Runaway Disparities
And as seen in this next group of recent articles, we’re also seeing wage/wealth gaps growing precipitously beyond measure, which is unsustainable in our nation which creates such vast amounts of wealth. Trump’s aristocracy economy is directing more of the proceeds to the very top, helping prop up selective economic stats & the stock market, but dismally fails in addressing the plight of the working poor who’ve been largely left behind. I keep emphasizing we need to rally around new & better ideas, since the GOP do-nothing approach or proposed Dem handouts will not resolve the core problems. Make no mistake, our economic system needs revamped at the foundational level or otherwise the imbalances & distortions can only worsen. Adhering to the status quo without smart intervention will exacerbate this modern Gilded Age.
It’s not only income inequality that skews our economic data, but the hot growth markets are camouflaging the thousands of communities out there struggling mightily, as across the fruited plain from sea to shining sea are areas mired in an ongoing economic malaise. Widespread financial despair is at the heart of much of the angry frustration being felt throughout the heartland, so it would be unconscionable as a nation to not address this serious & entrenched condition. A bigger-picture-type fix is possible if we only had the determination & will to do it:
This Week’s Articles
During this failed Trump presidency, the economy (& foreign interference) presents the main theme his campaign is counting on to win a second term. Trump has also repeatedly said a strong economy should make him immune from impeachment. CNN’s Smerconish yesterday had a survey question asking if a strong economy should spare Trump from impeachment, which 96% of his viewer respondents said no. I doubt that survey on live TV had many GOP supporters weighing in. But 2020 is shaping up as that one unique election where the economy needs to take a back seat, since the top priority is saving our democracy.
To the extent many American voters might choose Trump again based on the reportedly strong economy without regard to his criminality, his reelection could become the moment our nation trashes the Constitution beyond repair. If the jobs numbers do stay strong for another year, Americans should be forewarned a stable job market is not a legitimate reason to vote for a demagogue who could forever mar our free society. Yes, diminishing democratic principles for a temporary 30 pieces of silver is a horrible exchange in the long run.
Posted below are articles from just the past few days on the latest jobs report & other economic factors of consequence. Some of the links take us into a discussion of better capitalism, a debate we need to have if we could ever unite as a country enough to reach across the aisle. Free market capitalism has been extraordinarily successful throughout our nation’s history for spurring on growth & ingenuity, motivating individual initiative so people can do their best & accomplish great things. But our modern-day version has been sorely lacking in providing shared growth & upward mobility, so I say repeatedly we must tweak capitalism for the common good or we risk losing it altogether.
Other articles here provide details on the current trade negotiations, & as much as I always bash this president who fully deserves our criticisms, I have mostly held back on critiquing his tariffs & trade war. We should feel for the many farmers & manufacturers whose livelihoods are being devastated, while also questioning Trump’s tactics of a seemingly unending negotiation posture. But it’s true China has slanted the playing field in ripping us off on trade for decades, so if Trump’s hardball approach does ultimately lead to a fair two-way street on trade & stop the blatant theft of intellectual property, the short-term pain would be worth the long-term gain. But like with North Korea & Iran, the China negotiations have created chaos with seemingly no endgame. Here are link titles on the economy to peruse, while further below is that crazy GOP & selected song:
http://nymag.com/
GOP Has Truly Come Unhinged!
They’ve abandoned all facts & reason in an attempt to sustain corrupt political power. We’re never going to bring the party back to reason, integrity & sanity until we retrieve the GOP base back from the abyss, since the right-wing media-echo has push them way out into far-right extremism:
Polling
A Morning Consult poll shows Trump underwater in all the critical Midwest swing states:
A Long December
And there’s reason to believe
maybe this year will be better than the last
Which can only be made possible through the impeachment/removal of the president or voting him out in November, since our nation needs to remove this dangerously corrupt demagogue from the highest office. It will be A Long December with impeachment proceedings during the holiday season, but don’t blame the investigators or the witnesses or the Dems or the media. There’s only one person to blame for this mess:
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